The Hart of LA
by Raycheld22
Summary: Newly revised, I'm posting it all over people! Buffy and faith go to L.A. to ask Angel for a job.. better summary inside.. Chapter 10 up!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

* * *

Buffy was a little overwhelmed by her surroundings. She was standing outside of Wolfram and Hart, one of the biggest entities in the world. She was trying to process everything that had happened to her over the last couple of months. She'd defeated the hellmouth in Sunnydale, but had destroyed Sunnydale in the process. She'd lost one of her best friends as a result as well. Faith was now a confidant and someone Buffy was beginning to depend on for friendship. All of her potentials now had the power that she and Faith did. The one and only slayer was no more. She knew that she needed to see Angel, but just thinking about it made her stomach drop. Faith walked over to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, B, you'll never know until you try." Buffy knew that she was right, but getting her feet to obey her was becoming a serious problem. She didn't know how Angel was going to react at her appearance. The last meeting hadn't exactly been a pleasant one. She still hadn't moved when a young black man came trotting down the steps. He looked as if he was in a hurry, but he stopped in his tracks and walked over to them.

"Faith, long time no see! Man, you don't write or call. What's up with that?" Faith smiled at the man, which was rare occasion in itself.

"What's up, Gunn? How's everything been going for you guys?" Gunn shrugged.

"Oh, the usual, though fighting demons while trying to defend them is beginning to prove difficult." Buffy was confused, but she didn't say anything. Faith took her silence as an okay to continue.

"Say, is the big boss man available for some company?" Gunn grinned at her choice of words.

"As a matter of fact, he is. Go to the back of the building and get in the middle elevator. It'll take you right up to his office, it's on the top floor…just don't push the button that says 'white room'. The elevator won't do anything and you'll be stuck." Faith said her farewell to him and grabbed Buffy's' arm so they could proceed.

When they walked into Wolfram and Hart's lobby, Buffy was awestruck. It was nothing at all like she had imagined it would be. Angel actually worked here? No, he ran the place. It was strange to picture him running a corporation like this. Buffy and Faith were the only ones going in to see him. Giles had gone back to England, much to Buffy's annoyance. He was talking with the remains of the council, and she didn't see a point to it. He was due back in a month or so, and she just wanted him with her. She wanted all of her friends with her so she could keep an eye on them, because she couldn't bear to lose anyone else. Willow had moved to San Diego with Kennedy so they could start a new life. She kept in touch with Buffy regularly, but it wasn't the same. The potentials had scattered, though they needed to be trained properly. Wood had left to travel the world after healing from his wound. He had asked Faith to go along with him, but she refused. She told him that her place was with Buffy so they could come up with a plan. It was weird to be this close to Faith, but she was grateful that she was there with her. Dawn had gone to live with Willow, and that had to be the hardest thing for Buffy to become adjusted to. Willow was training her in magic so she could defend herself better against the things that prowled. Before she had left, Willow had taken her aside and told her that she wished she could see Oz one more time. They'd all almost died in that last battle, and she just wanted to make sure that he was okay…so, Buffy had sent Xander and Andrew to search for him. It was the least Buffy could do for Willow after what she'd done for her. Buffy had spared no expense in getting them there, and she wouldn't as long as it helped her friends out. So, in the end it was only Faith and Buffy left. When they got to the top of the building, there wasn't anyone in the room. Faith whooped like a little kid.

"Wow, B, this office is amazing!" Buffy laughed nervously.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I can't picture Angel working in an office like this; it gives him no room to brood. This can't be his office, Faith, all of the windows are open and the sun is blazing in here." Angel came around the corner where his bookcase was and grinned.

"It's my office alright." They both jumped when they heard his voice because they hadn't heard him approach. Faith walked over to him and gave him a big hug.

"Hey, Angel, how's it going?" He answered her, but his eyes never really left Buffy's face.

"We're doing pretty well here. I see you guys faired okay with the hellmouth. It's all over the news how a natural disaster destroyed all of Sunnydale and it's now a crater. It's really good to see you two. Say Buffy, do you still have that medallion? I was hoping to have my scientists analyze it some more if you do." Buffy could feel the tears well up out of nowhere.

"No, I don't have it anymore, Angel. Spike has it with him…wherever he is." Faith went to stand beside her because she knew that Buffy was suffering at his loss. Angel, however, began to laugh at her statement.

"You mean good old Spike turned back to his old ways and stole it?" Buffy glared at him for his ugly remark. She knew that he never liked Spike, and he probably never would.

"No, I don't mean that at all. For your information, Angel, Spike saved everyone. He's the reason that we're standing in front of you right now." Angel gave her a weird look, one that Buffy couldn't quite place.

"Well, I'll have to thank him for that, won't I?" Faith sighed, not able to hold it in any longer.

"Dammit, Angel, shut the hell up! Spike is dead!" Angel actually looked shocked and little bit sorry.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. Wait, what do you mean that he's dead? The medallion was supposed to protect him, if the information I had was correct." Tears were flowing freely down Buffy's face.

"Obviously, your information was wrong, wasn't it? He put it on and he knew that he was going to die. I had to watch him die knowing that the only reason he was doing it was because of me." Angel walked up to her and took her hand.

"I really am sorry, Buffy. I know that you were close to him. You have to look on the bright side, though. He atoned for all of the sins he committed. By saving earth, he ended up saving himself." Buffy wiped the tears from her face and then looked up at him.

"I know he did, Angel, and I'll never stop loving him for it." At that particular moment, Buffy's surroundings seemed to hit her.

"How do you have every single window open like you do? It's the middle of the day." Angel just grinned at her.

* * *

_a/n: plz review! This story is one that has already been written and is finished. I'd removed it to do some tweaking, so the chapters won't be too far apart, i'm just proofing and revising a little._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Sorry for the delay, folks! Okay...I'm in the process of posting Chapters 2-6 tonight. Hopefully chapters 7-15 will be up tomorrow, i plan on working on it. This is a story that i've already written, so i'm just revising it. There is also going to be a sequel, it to has already been written...just revising a few things. I've had a problem with my files and that's why this story was delayed. Hope you enjoy the story!_

_PLEASE REVIEW!!_

_WARNING!!- I WROTE THIS STORY BEFORE SEASON 5 OF ANGEL AIRED, SO THE STORYLINE IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. THIS IS MY VERSION OF HOW EVERYTHING ENDED. IF YOU'VE READ CHAPTER ONE, YOU KNOW THAT SEASON 7 HAS HAPPENED, BUT NOTHING IN SEASON 5 OF ANGEL HAS HAPPENED. SO, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SIMILARITIES, THE ONLY THING IS THAT SPIKE WILL EVENTUALLY APPEAR, THOUGH NOTHING LIKE IN SEASON 5. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL, BUT **PLEASE DO NOT FLAME!!**_

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Meanwhile, in San Diego, Willow was walking through her new house. She never got over that fact, it was her house. Kennedy had come with her, to which Willow was very grateful. She really cared for Kennedy, and was very glad that she had her. Sure, she still missed Tara, but it wasn't as hard as it had been. Kennedy helped her remember that she needed to live her life, even if it is sometimes painful. Dawn was at school today, she was a junior in high school. She'd really hated to leave Buffy by herself with Faith, but she had really needed to get out on her own. She knew Buffy was going back to Angel, because that was just what Buffy did. Those two would never learn from their previous mistakes. Then again, that's the way love worked, she supposed. If you're destined to be with this person, and in your heart you know it, you'll find a way to be with them. Spike was gone, and so was everyone else for that matter. She was going to miss Buffy tremendously, but she would just have to manage. Just then Dawn burst through the front door.

" Hey, Willow, how was your day? Let me tell you, mine was absolutely awful!"

Willow couldn't help but smile at her statement. High school wasn't fun for anyone...okay, so she had enjoyed high school. It had been fun for her, except for the occasional vampire, and someone being murdered, but every city has its problems. She'd really enjoyed the teachers and the things she'd learned in school. She'd been a pretty big nerd, but learning had been her thing. In school it had always been Buffy, Xander, and Willow. Then Oz had come into the picture, then Oz had left the picture, and then she had found Tara. Sometimes Willow would look across a crowded room and think she saw Tara, but then she'd remember. It didn't happen often, but there were certain things that would trigger a memory, or she'd smell her perfume. It was always a hard thing to deal with; when she realized that she wasn't really there. She had told Buffy before the big battle that she wanted to see Oz one more time. She just wanted to look at him and see if he was ok. They hadn't ended on the best of terms, and at the time, she didn't think she was going to make it out of the school alive. She also wanted to tell him that she was alright, too. It would never happen, and she was okay with that. It was just something that she had wanted to do at that time. Just then she remembered that she was supposed to be paying attention to Dawn.

"So, how come your day was so horrible?" Dawn sighed and rested her head up against the couch.

"Everyone keeps calling me a freak. Honestly Willow, one show of magick and everyone is running scared of me." Willow had to laugh at this, because Dawn had a way of being over dramatic about things.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry for laughing, but you made your teacher's picture of an Indian war come to life. I think people would be a little intimidated." Dawn grinned.

"Well, it's not like I meant to do it. Not to mention the fact, I fixed it." Willow gave her a look that spoke volumes. She wasn't surprised that she didn't have to say anything verbally because Dawn corrected herself.

"Ok, ok, so I had to call you to fix it, but I did help a little." Just then the door opened, and Kennedy walked into the house. Willow stood up to hug her, but Kennedy side stepped her.

"Sorry Willow, I smell really bad. I just got back from doing laps, and I really don't think you want to hug me right now." Willow smiled at her, walked up to her, and put her arms around her.

"I don't care what you smell like, I want to kiss you hello." So she did just that. She really was starting to care for Kennedy, and it was kind of scaring her. She was so used to having her around now, that she couldn't see herself without her right now. Kennedy left to take a shower, when Dawn spoke up again.

"Um, Willow? Can I ask you a question?" Willow gave her a look that said DUH!, and Dawn giggled.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd heard from Andrew or Xander yet." Willow smiled a knowing smile. Ever since Sunnydale went up in flames, Andrew was the only thing Dawn could talk about. It was rather cute, and it sort of reminded her of her. Good for Dawn if she was able to see the decency in Andrew, most people just thought he was a dweeb. Dawn had always been really good at seeing the good in people, just like Tara had.

"Actually Dawn, I have no idea where they are. When we got to L.A. Buffy and Faith took them aside, and then they were going on a trip to who knows where? I'm sure they'll be back in a couple of weeks or so."

That seemed to appease Dawn. The fact of the matter was that Willow was upset too. Where in the hell had Buffy sent them? It was rather annoying to be kept out of the loop like that. She figured that after everything they'd been through together, she had a right to be in the know, but Buffy had kept in between the four of them. Maybe she was over-reacting and she shouldn't take it so personally, but it was really a hard thing to swallow. She mainly hoped that the boys were being safe, and that they hadn't gone to the next Hellmouth…that would have been stupid on Buffy's part. Oh well, she had her own life now...she didn't have time to brood.

* * *

Xander and Andrew were walking around Tibet. This was where Buffy had said to start. He did vaguely remember Oz saying this was his favorite place. They were sent here, because Buffy and Faith had told them to bring Oz to Willow. Xander really hoped that they could him for Willow's sake. She'd been completely different after Tara had died, and not just her turning evil. She'd kept to herself mostly, didn't confide in him anymore, and this thing with Kennedy was ridiculous. She was one of the most annoying girls that Xander had the misfortune to meet. She thought that she was a 'know it all' about everything. So, when Buffy asked him to travel and try to find Oz, the only other person that had really gotten to Willow, he hadn't hesitated in the least. If he wasn't here, they had a list of places they could look. Andrew was finishing one of his many sentences about Dawn. He'd been talking about her since they got on the damn plane to leave.

"I really like her eyes, they're just so expressive." Xander rolled his eyes…that was it, he'd had it. Xander was so tired of hearing Andrew speak, it wasn't funny.

"Andrew, please! SHUT UP!" Normally, he wasn't that bad, and he could handle the nerdiness that was Andrew, but he just kept talking about her! Sure, he loved Dawn, but he loved her like his little sister and didn't want to hear Andrew fawning on and on about her. They had rounded a corner when they saw a stand that had a guitar on it that looked a lot like the one Oz used to play in his band. They walked over to the stand, and Xander pulled out his picture he had of Oz. Behind the counter there was an older woman, and little guy with his back turned towards them.

"Excuse me ma'am, have you seen this guy? We're kind of looking for him." Just then the guy started speaking with his back still turned.

"Dude, she doesn't speak a word of English, what can I help you with?" Oz turned around and froze.

"Xander, is that you? Man, what the hell are you doing here, and how did you find me?" Xander stepped forward and hugged Oz.

"Buffy and Faith sent us here to come and get you. Some things have gone down and we figured we'd been missing the Oz for long enough. They want you to come back with us. Oh, sorry, by the way this is Andrew." Andrew shook Oz's hand, and gave him a guarded expression. Then Oz got a really confused look on his face, and when Xander asked him about it, he said.

"Well, it's just…Faith? I thought she was bad, and we didn't like her. The last I remember about that was Buffy had stabbed her in an attempt to save Angel. Also, that she was in a coma and would probably never wake up. When did all this happen?" This statement made Xander laugh, so he filled Oz in on the entire matter. He was really quiet for a long time.

"Xander, if you're going to tell me Willow is dead, then you can just turn right back around and leave. I only want to remember her happy, not to mention...alive." This time Andrew spoke up.

"Willow, dead? Hell, dude, she's a Goddess now, you can't..." Xander elbowed him hard and then took over the speaking.

"Willow wanted to see you is all." Oz looked away.

"I don't want to mess things up with her and Tara." Xander shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you, but Tara died. She was shot and killed awhile back; it was a pretty big tragedy." For a long time Oz didn't say anything. He was really shocked at all of this information. He could only stand there, and not speak, so Xander added.

"If you're afraid of turning into a werewolf when you see her, all you have to do is say so."

Oz gave him a funny sort of look, and then he started to laugh.(No, he really did laugh)

"Man, in all of this excitement, I forgot to tell you. I haven't been a werewolf since right after I left the second time."


	3. Chapter 3

____

A/N: Okay, here is the next chapter...3 more to go for the night.

_PLEASE REVIEW!! NO FLAMING PLEASE_

* * *

Chapter Three

Angel walked around the desk and grinned. He was so glad to see Buffy, that he couldn't keep the grin off his face. He'd read about what had happened and pieced the rest together himself. Buffy must have been looking after her crew and healing herself, because she sure took her sweet time to come and visit him. He'd begun to wonder whether or not she was going to come and see him at all. After the discussion they'd had in the graveyard the night before the battle, he'd been hopeful, but soon his hope got squashed because she didn't come to him. He knew that she wanted to wait until she was sure she was going to be done with the fighting, but when would that happen? She was the true slayer and as long as she was alive, she was going to have to fight. He didn't understand her 'cookie' analogy, but he'd played along.

"Oh, it's the glass. It's specially made just for me, so I can see the light. I can stand in front of them all day, watching what I always miss." Buffy smiled and put her hand on Angel's shoulder.

"Angel, that's wonderful! I'm very happy for you, it's just like having that ring of Amara, but this way no one will try to kill you for it. Though, I'm sure you're still not the most popular person in this place. Don't you kill the clientele or something?" Faith started laughing.

"That's awesome, Angel! I bet you never leave the office, huh?" He grinned back at her. Buffy removed her hand from Angel, and got serious. She wanted to be able to hang out with him, but it was always kind of awkward.

"Well, Angel, we came here for a specific reason." He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. He knew that there had to be a catch in there somewhere. As much as he'd like to think she came just to see him, he knew it was true.

"Ah, so I take it you didn't make this trip just see me? You weren't just craving to have a conversation with me?" This made Buffy pause, and Faith was just standing to the side letting her do her thing. She was so not going to get in the middle of this one. These two had too much history for them to be here, but it was the only place they could be.

"Of course we came to see you, Angel. You did give us the medallion, didn't you? Without that, we would probably be down there fighting. That thing just wiped everything away from down there. We just wanted to ask you a question...well sort of a favor. We were just wondering if you needed any help here. Since the Hellmouth and Sunnydale has been destroyed, we're free, and we were wondering if you'd hire us. We don't really have anywhere to go, and if it's a problem, it wouldn't be for long."

* * *

It took Xander awhile to recover from the shock of the news of what he was hearing. Oz wasn't a werewolf anymore? That was so weird to him…he'd been one for as long as Xander had known him and now he was just Oz. Sure, he still looked the same and didn't talk much, but was definitely hard to swallow. The good news, he could go around Willow without any repercussions at all. He knew that Oz had been trying to find a way to do that since he'd almost attacked Willow while he'd been wolfed out. He finally shook his head and gave Oz a confused look.

"What do you mean that you're not a werewolf? How and When did this happen? You couldn't send us a postcard or something?" Oz just kind of shrugged.

"Come on Xander, after the last meeting, did you honestly think I'd make contact again? After I left Sunnydale again, I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't be with the woman I loved, because I'd turn into a werewolf...and she's a lesbian. So, I sought out a witch doctor I heard took care of things like that. I didn't know if I was going to die, or if I would just be able to live with my life. I had to go through these things to make it happen. I had to prove that I was worthy."

Oz went on to tell them how he had become human, and how finally, the witch doctor gave him a potion and did a ceremony on the full moon. Xander and Andrew sat and listened to his story quietly. After he was finished, he had a hard time recovering. It's not every day that you hear your old friend was no longer a werewolf. Xander spoke first, but he spoke softly.

"Wow, that's great for you man." Oz just nodded.

"Did you ever meet anyone else?" Oz smiled.

"That was very subtle, Xander. No, after Willow there was no one. If you're sure she wants to see me, then I'll go with you." Xander spoke fast.

"Of course she wants to see you! We are here aren't we?" Oz just kept nodding his head.

"Alright then, that's fine. I'll go if she's not seeing anyone...is she?"

* * *

Willow and Kennedy were sitting in the living room watching a movie. It wasn't a movie that particularly interested Willow, but Kennedy thought It was funny. Something about a pie and band camp…she was lost. Willow's head was rested on Kennedy's shoulder, when suddenly, Willow had butterflies in her stomach. It was the same sensation she used to feel whenever she was with... Willow jerked her head up real fast, and startled Kennedy.

"What's the matter, sweetie? Do you not like the movie?" Willow was completely freaked out, but the feeling passed.

"Oh, it was nothing. I just felt...weird."

* * *

Oz stopped what he was doing and glared at Xander. He'd just started to get his hopes up and it looked like Xander was going to ruin them. He'd been getting along okay with his new life. Sure he was in a different country and he didn't know absolutely anyone there, but he was surviving. He also wasn't a wolf anymore, and what more could he want? Well, he wanted Willow, but he didn't see that happening at all…she'd turned lesbian.

"Xander, is seeing someone?" Xander looked at his feet.

"She's seeing a girl named Kennedy, but it isn't serious." Oz couldn't believe it, he was actually mad. Why did they have to ruin everything? He was doing okay. He knew Willow was happy, and doing great, then these two goons come over here and wreck it!

"Dammit, Xander! I'm not going to screw up her life again! I care about her far too much to do that!" Xander didn't know what to do. He'd never seen Oz this mad, and he really didn't know what to expect.

"Listen, I wouldn't be here if it would mess up Willow's life. You know that Oz! She's my best friend, and I'd never hurt her. She told Buffy she wanted 

to see you, and that's why we're here. She honestly didn't think you'd come if she asked, because she knows how upset you were about her and Tara. Buffy wanted to surprise her, and get you to come back." Oz was speechless for a few minutes.

"Okay, I'll come with you. Mostly, because I'd love to see her again." This said, Andrew broke his silent spell.

"Wow, dudes, that was intense."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I really love this story...2 more chapters are being posted tonight...hope you like them._

_PLEASE REVIEW_**Chapter Four**

* * *

Buffy and Faith were taking a tour of Wolfram and Hart for the first time. They were being led around by Angel's friend, Lorne. He looked sort of creepy to Buffy, but Faith swore he was a good guy. She'd met him before when she helped Angel out of his jam. She called it that, because she didn't like to think of him without a soul. She was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, she did know several people that weren't human, but were still good. Angel had been the first one to show her just how good generally evil things could be. Sure, she had thought he was human when she first met him. He'd approached her about her vampire hunting, and her first instinct, was 'how does he know?' He'd known she was the slayer because he'd been a vampire. He had been given a soul after he'd killed a gypsy girl. She'd been a favorite among her clan, which caused them to hunt him down and curse him. He'd been living on the streets for a long time, when he decided that he was going to start helping with the fight against evil. He had helped Buffy for a really long time, fighting side by side with her, but then he had moved to L.A. and started Angel investigations. She'd been really hurt when he'd made this decision, but she understood why he did. She'd had ideas that they could be together forever, but being realistic, how could they have done that? Now, he was running what used to be a very evil corporation called Wolfram and Hart.

Oz had been the second person to show Buffy that not all demons were evil. Although, Oz wasn't really a demon, he was a werewolf. He had been with the group for awhile, before anyone knew that he was, though. He'd been bitten by his cousin, Jordy. He didn't really have any special strength except when he got wolfy, but he always helped the scoobies out. Then, there was Spike, who had just recently gotten a soul. He'd had been good for a couple of years before he got one, but only because he had a chip in his brain. Spike was still a demon without a soul in those times and he wanted to kill something. It turned out if he even tried to harm a human, his brain would be electrocuted. He'd fallen in love with Buffy to where it wouldn't have mattered if he'd had the chip or not. It was then that he'd gotten his soul. Buffy had loved Angel very much. Well, she still loved Angel, but she wasn't going to act on that. She had cared for Spike, but nothing compared to what she felt for Angel. It wasn't love, but she was totally lost now that Spike was gone. She just wished she could've told him so before. Just to tell him how much he'd meant to her, and how much she appreciated him. Just then Faith tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hello! Earth to Buffy! Geeze, what on in the world were you daydreaming about?" Buffy just kind of shrugged. She was embarrassed she had been caught daydreaming, and she really didn't want to discuss it with Faith.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Faith grinned at her.

"You were thinking about Angel weren't you? Come, on B., I know you were and I know that look of yours." Buffy gave Faith a look that spoke volumes. She hadn't been thinking of him that much.

"Actually, I was thinking about Spike, and I was wondering where he was. I don't know if he died in that cave, and I don't see how he couldn't have."

Just then Lorne turned around and looked right at Buffy.

"I have got to get you to sing for me...maybe just hum a little."

* * *

Wesley was in Angel's office, pacing back and forth. He was giving Angel a piece of his mind. He didn't like the fact that he had hired Buffy. What was he doing adding two slayers to the staff when the clients didn't even like them handling their cases. Now, he'd gone and hired two people that wouldn't think twice about chopping a head off or two. Not to mention, Angel was a different person when he was around Buffy, and he wasn't sure that it was a good thing to have her so close to him. He was afraid that Angel was going to lose sight of the mission because of his feelings. He just hoped that he could talk some sense into him.

"Honestly Angel, what in the world possessed you? You know how you are when it comes to her. You can't control yourself when it comes to Buffy Summers, and everyone knows that. I know you had a thing with Cordelia, but she's gone now and even if she were still here, you'd have dropped her if Buffy had come back." Angel looked at Wesley warily. Some of what Wesley was saying made sense. It's true, he was sometimes irrational when it came to Buffy, but he wasn't stupid. He'd lost his soul too many times, and he honestly didn't think she'd take him back anyway.

"Look Wesley, hiring Buffy has nothing to do with her and myself. She's homeless Wes. Plus, there is still evil in Las Angeles, and how can I turn down the help of not one, but two slayers? Besides, she's in love with Spike, so there won't be a problem." This made Wes pause in his speech. How could she love an awful creature like that?

"What do you mean, 'she's in love with Spike'? Surely the girl has more sense than to date that...thing." Angel sat down at his desk. That's what he'd often thought himself, but Spike had gotten a soul for Buffy. He'd been there for her when he'd been here.

"Wes, man, he was a good guy there at the end. He loved Buffy very much, so he got himself a soul for her." Wesley didn't know what to say. Spike with a soul? Buffy with Spike? Oh dear. Then he remembered something.

"What did you mean by, 'there at the end?" Angel stood up again. He hated to think about the relationship between him and Buffy. The fact that she slept with him...well it made him want to throw things.

"He was the one that wore the medallion when Sunnydale went up in flames. Apparently, he was killed by the thing." So this was the catch. Wesley stopped his earlier pacing to face Angel again.

"Well, that just brings me back to what I was saying earlier. You can't control yourself when you're around her! She's always had a weak spot for you as well. If the two of you are alone together, you know what will happen. We can't afford for you to turn into Angelus again."

* * *

"I'm serious Buffy, I know that feeling! I haven't felt anything like that since right before Oz left that second time." Willow was on the phone talking to Buffy. She couldn't shake that feeling she'd had. Buffy was trying her best not to start laughing.

"Wil, I honestly don't know what to tell you. Do you think you could be getting a visit or something?" Willow had thought of that, but that wouldn't work.

"Buffy, how could he visit me? He doesn't even know Sunnydale doesn't exist anymore." Buffy wasn't about to let her little secret slip, and she had the feeling that Willow was fishing.

"I don't know what to tell you, I was just asking. Hey, you'd better put Dawn on the phone, so she can finish her homework." She could hear Willow sigh and then give the phone over to her sister.

"Hey Buffy! How are you? How's Faith? Have you seen Angel yet? Have you heard from Andrew yet?" Buffy had to take the phone away from her ear.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kiddo. One question at a time. I'm fine, Faith is fine, yes, I've seen Angel, and why do you want to know about Andrew?"

* * *

Xander, Oz, and Andrew were on the plane headed towards L.A. Buffy had said she wanted to talk to Oz before she sent them to San Diego. Oz was still amazed that Buffy's sister wasn't really her sister. If this was really the case, that meant he hadn't actually met Dawn…weird. He had all of these memories of her sneaking up on them when they were all together. She'd been trying eavesdrop on them, and he'd always thought it cute. How could that not have been real? It was too much to put in his head.

"Are you sure you're not just pulling my leg? How can Dawn be a key and not real? How could Buffy fall in love with spike, spike die, Buffy die...again, man, I'm at a total loss."

Xander laughed, because he knew exactly what he meant. Oz had been gone for way too long. He'd missed several key things in that absence as well. One of those things, when Dawn showed up in the picture, but he seemed to know who she was. It was too weird how the monks had done the memories. He was sure Dawn was going to be grateful that Oz wouldn't treat her like a stranger, because she remembered Oz and talked about him occasionally. He'd missed what happened to Buffy's mom which was probably the biggest thing…besides Buffy dying. Just then Oz was looking at Xander.

"Not to mention you. You lost Anya...and your eye. You can't imagine what I'm feeling right now. I mean, I know you lived it, but that's just a lot of information. You guys defeated the hellmouth...wow." Xander just nodded.

"Well, just Faith, Buffy, and the potentials went down there. Oh, yeah, and Spike. He was wearing this medallion thing, and he saved us all. It's really weird, because I used to hate him...still kinda do, but I actually miss him." Andrew looked up then, and added,

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I actually liked Spike. He sort of looked after me." Oz looked at him like he was crazy, well he is, but it was still a weird thing for him say, and Oz said so.

"See, that's just weird for me. I remember we all hated Spike. We tried to kill Spike and Vice versa. The fact that he and Buffy...and he got a soul. What does Joyce think about all of this?"

* * *

Angel jerked his head up, and glared at Wesley. Since when did Wesley think he had a right to talk to Angel about his relationships? He valued Wesley's opinion on just about everything, but this was one subject where his judgment wasn't needed or wanted. He knew how he was around Buffy, which was partly why he'd extracted himself from her life when he did. She needed to grow up and experience life. They'd still been in contact with each other, but he couldn't be with her while she was becoming the woman she was destined to be.

"Wes, that isn't going to happen, I just got my soul back, so I really don't want to lose it again. Plus, I've already told you she's in love with Spike. If you could've seen her face when we were talking about him, you wouldn't be lecturing me right now. While we're on the subject, why are you lecturing me? I am your boss, Wes." Wesley looked like Angel had hit him. He groped for a chair, and sank into it.

"So, that's how it is now? You're the boss, and I'm the employee?" Angel sighed and shook his head. He wasn't trying to mean to Wesley, but he was his boss, and he didn't like his decisions questioned.

"Well, Wes, it's true. I am the boss. Now, normally I don't pull rank, but you're questioning one of my decisions. Please, don't take it personally, because even though you were speaking about me personally, I'm not mad. Now Buffy and Faith don't have anywhere else to go. Nothing is going to happen between us." Just then Buffy spoke up, startling both Wesley and Angel.

"I'll second that statement, Angel." Wesley jerked his head around to see her. Angel just stared at her. Faith looked like she wanted to burst out laughing. Buffy was staring at Angel. Wes tried to apologize, but it didn't quite work.

"Oh Buffy, I didn't see you there. I'm terribly sorry, er..." Buffy raised on of her hands.

"Forget it, Wesley. I always knew what you thought about me, and frankly I don't give a crap. Angel, we've finished the tour." Angel finally looked away from her.

"Great we'll get Lorne to book you a hotel room, until we can arrange for an apartment for the two of you." It was then he looked back at Buffy.

"You and Faith can each have a room. We'll pay for it, until you get on your feet." Although she didn't like charity, she nodded her agreement. She really didn't have a choice. As it was, Angel was paying her and Faith an outrageous amount of money. He stood.

"Alright, it's settled. We'll see you tomorrow. You can come in at 9:00 A.M. That should be fine."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**_ Okay, only one more chapter to go for the evening. This chapter is shorter than i'd hoped, but it had been shorter before I fixed the grammar and thickened it out a bunch_Chapter Five

* * *

Willow, Kennedy, and Dawn were sitting around their dining room table, eating dinner. Dawn was kind of mopey and Willow was on edge. Dawn was very antsy about Andrew, but she wouldn't say so out loud. Willow knew that she was upset about being kept in the dark because she felt the same way. Willow had always been part of the inner circle, and now they were keeping things from her. It really bugged her when they tried to protect her from things that she needed to know. Kennedy was oblivious to Willow's turmoil. She just sat at the table, eating her dinner silently. She'd never really been comfortable around Dawn, but Willow was adamant about teaching her how to control her power. She'd caught her on more than one occasion trying to do things she shouldn't be messing with. That's the main reason she offered to let Dawn live with her, plus Buffy needed some time on her own. Trying to break the silence, Willow addressed Dawn.

"So, Dawn, did Buffy give you any useful information on Andrew?" Dawn just shook her head. She was very quiet, which was very weird for Dawn. She was usually just this little ball of energy ready to explode.

"She gave me a whole boatload of nothing. They're just doing an errand for her, and she won't tell me what it is. She's always sheltering me from things." Willow knew exactly what she meant, and she was just as annoyed. There had been times when everyone had tried to shelter her. When Xander was dating Cordelia, Buffy not telling her when Angel had come back from a Hell dimension, and now this. They'd done the same thing to Dawn as well. Buffy had found out that Dawn was the key and hadn't told anyone at all. She'd confided in Giles, and only later had she said something to them about it. Dawn had only found out because she'd read it Giles's journal.

"Dawn, she's just trying to protect you." Dawn dropped her fork onto her plate.

" Well it majorly sucks! I thought I was part of the scoobies now, but I guess I just thought wrong." Before Willow could say anything else, the phone rang. Willow answered it, and when she heard who it was, she had to smile.

"Oh Dawn! You have a telephone call, my dear." Dawn got up sulkily, (probably thinking it was her sister again.), and went over to the phone.

"Hello?" That was when she heard Andrew's voice...and she squealed. His voice was smiling.

" Hi. I heard that you've been asking about me, so I figured I'd just call you."

* * *

Well this was just great! After Xander had told Oz about Joyce, Oz had gone to sleep saying he couldn't take any more bad news. Now, after talking to Buffy, Andrew was on the phone with Dawn. Xander couldn't take this for very much longer! He missed Anya so much that he ached from it. Sure, she'd been quirky and very annoying at times, but she'd been his soul mate. She'd always been there for him, even when they hadn't been dating, and now she was gone. To top things all off, he couldn't go to sleep for the life of him. Just then Andrew was saying something about where he was, and Xander panicked. Buffy had been very specific about not telling anyone where they were, he just didn't know why.

"Oh, don't worry, we're just fine. We were only checking out Cleveland, you know because of the Hellmouth. So, how's school?" Great, teenage love, only Andrew wasn't a teenager he just acted it.

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to go to a movie or something like that. Really? Great! Well, I'll see you in a couple of days then. Bye bye."

Andrew hung up the phone and immediately started to go to sleep. He said goodnight to Xander, who was still upset about not being able to sleep. After Andrew was asleep that only left Xander to think about what he wanted to do. He didn't have Anya anymore, so he could go anywhere he wanted to go. That sounded so horrible in his head, but really, what was keeping him from going somewhere different? Sure, he'd miss his friends, but he thought it was time to branch off on his own. Once again, his mind fell on Anya and how much he missed having her with him. He missed her stupid sayings, and the way she made him feel. Now, he was just dead inside. He finally fell asleep, and when he woke up they were still quite a bit from California. At least he'd been able to rest a little bit, even if it hadn't been for long. They had stopped to refuel, and were already headed out again. It seemed like forever before their plane was descending onto the runway at L.A.

* * *

Buffy hated waiting, it was one of her biggest faults. She was at the airport by herself, and she was waiting for the boys' plane to land. Angel hadn't minded that she was going. Technically, yes, he was her boss, but he didn't give her orders. It was the same way with Faith. She and Buffy could pretty much do whatever they wanted to do, but if something big came along that they couldn't defeat, then they'd have to tell Angel. He'd made them promise that if a demon came along that was really hard for them to kill, then they needed to tell him. He was still very protective of her, which was nice, but only to a certain extent. Angel had told her to tell Xander to stick around here, so he could talk to him. She knew it wouldn't be easy for him to do so because of Anya. She didn't want him to leave, but she knew he wanted to. He wanted to get away from everyone and everything, which she couldn't blame him for. He blamed himself for Anya's death, and that was just silly. Just then they announced that the flight had arrived, and Buffy took a deep breath. She walked over to where they would be deboarding to wait for them. It was a little while before they got out of there, and the wait almost made Buffy crazy. When she finally saw them, she smiled and waved at them. Oz walked over to Buffy and gave her a hug.

"Hey Buffy. I'm really sorry about you mom. I would have come for the funeral if I'd known."

She smiled at him and didn't let her pain show. She was still a little raw at the fact her mother's grave was completely destroyed. She couldn't really blame him for not being there either, even if he had known about it. To be around the person you love, and not be able to touch them...very hard to do. She was so excited about Willow seeing him because she thought he was what she needed right now. Buffy didn't have a problem with Kennedy at all, but she just wasn't right for her best friend.

"Oz, it's totally fine. I really didn't expect you to come, what with everything that happened. I'm really glad that you agreed to come, though, and not to sound too rude, but we have to leave. Your flight to San Diego leaves in twenty minutes." They walked over to where the other gate was, and Buffy started talking again.

"Ok, I brought you here because I think Willow needs you. It's as simple as that...she needs you. She may not need you as a boyfriend, but she does 

need you to be there as her friend. I can't protect her anymore because she's there and I'm here. You can, though, you used to always protect her when you could, and I respect that more than you'll ever know. So, here are your tickets. Send Willow my love." Oz took the tickets from Buffy, and noticed there was only two.

" Hey, wait, there's only two tickets here, who's coming with me?"


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Alrighty, this is the last chapter I'm updating tomorrow. I will hopefully get 7 thru 15 up tomorrow, but you never know with these things. Hope everyone enjoys._**Chapter Six**

* * *

Buffy and Xander were walking out to her car. He didn't look too pleased with her at the moment, and she couldn't understand why. Maybe it was just the fact that he was having to stay because of Angel. He didn't have to stay at all, but he did because of Buffy. He loved Buffy, but he didn't LOVE Buffy that way anymore. He understood why she was working with Angel, but why did he have to? It made sense for her to join with him because he had unlimited resources at his disposal. She'd be able to fight demons on a much higher level. She was one of his best friends, though, and if she wanted him to stay...then he would. They walked to her car and got in once she unlocked it. Once they were in she looked over at him.

"Xander, why are you so upset? Don't say you aren't either, I can read you like a book. I know you don't want to stay here, but just come to this meeting, and I'll personally buy you a ticket to San Diego." Xander sighed. He hated making Buffy feel bad. It's not that he didn't want to be around Buffy, but he hated Angel. Hated him with a fiery passion of hell that Angel had been in.

"Buffy, it's so not that." He turned to where he was facing her.

"I really don't want to go to San Diego, but you know I don't like Angel (understatement), and you made it sound like he was ordering me about like his faithful dog. Who the hell is he to give me orders, Buffy? The guy skips town when we seriously need him because he can't be around you? If you're easy to forgive or whatever, then that's fine, but you need to know I'm only doing this for you. Of course I'll stay, Buff, but only if you want me to stay too. Willow has Kennedy, Dawn, and Oz now. You've got yourself and Faith. I'd love to stay here and help you, but it feels like I'm not really needed." She started to say something, but he stopped her.

"Buffy, I'm not angry with you, and I never really could be. I just don't like the fact that he thinks he can order everyone around. Granted he's 300 and is now in charge of an evil corporation, but still." Buffy had to laugh at this. Xander always made her laugh, even in the weirdest of situations.

"He's only 248, thank you very much, and it's not an evil corporation anymore. Xand, you know I need you. You're my best friend, and you know it. You've always been there for me even in the toughest of situations. You don't have any special powers, but you risked your life with me on a daily basis. Not to mention the fact that I can talk to you about anything...well almost anything." Xander glanced at her. He couldn't help but to laugh along with her.

"Ok, I'll listen to him, but only because you're my favorite slayer."

* * *

Faith was on her way to see Angel. She had to tell him about a new demon that had totally kicked her ass. She'd been totally confident when she saw it, but it had laid our out completely without even breaking a sweat. The only people in the building were Lorne, Wes, Fred, and Angel. The lobby looked deserted, and it was usually buzzing with activity. She was almost to the elevator leading to Angel's office when all of the sudden it got really dark in the building. It got very windy, and loud noises like Thunder sounded from out of nowhere. Faith looked around to see what was going on, but the only difference in the room was that it was darker. There was a really loud thunderclap and someone came flying down from the ceiling...completely naked. Faith looked at the man lying on the ground, and noticed that he looked extremely familiar. She wasn't sure where she'd seen the blonde person before, but he definitely looked like someone she knew. Just as she was about to approach him, he jumped up in a fit.

"Where in the bloody hell am I? Why is it so freaking cold in here? Wait a tick...WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES!!" Faith scrambled out from under the desk she'd been hiding under to stare at the creature in front of her.

"Spike? Oh God, is it really you?" She couldn't believe that he was standing in front of her, wait until Buffy saw him! Just then she realized that he had no clothes on, and she started to grin.

"Well, no wonder B. liked you so much." She couldn't help but laugh at his expression. He grumbled to himself.

"This is just bloody brilliant." He looked around a bit and then glared at her.

"Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to get me some clothing?" Before she could say anything the elevator opened and Angel, Wes, and Lorne walked out.

"What the hell was that?" He was looking around when he spotted Faith.

" Are you okay? You didn't get hurt did you?" Once again Faith was cut off, but this time it was by Spike.

"Um, excuse me, naked vampire here!" Wesley, Angel, and Lorne all turned to face him. Wesley was the first to speak.

"Good Lord! Spike? Where in the devil did you come from, and why are you naked? They said that you'd died." Spike smirked.

"It'll take more than a necklace and a Hellmouth to stop me." This made Angel speak up then.

"What are you doing here, Spike?" Spike shot Angel and icy look.

"Now, how would I know that, mate? If I was just going to stop by and say ' Gee, Hi Angel, I really hate you, you bint', would I show up with no clothes on?" This left everyone silent...except for Lorne.

"Um, Angel cakes, maybe you should give him your coat...just until we can get him in proper clothing, that is." Angel jerked his head around towards Lorne.

"Are you crazy?! I'm not giving him my jacket! He's naked!" Wesley sighed. They were acting like spoiled little babies.

"Precisely why you should give him your jacket, Angel." Faith jumped up then.

"You know, Spike looks just fine to me." They all just ignored her comment. Angel grudgingly gave over his jacket.

"I just want you to know, that I'm burning that."

* * *

Buffy was glad that Xander was staying in L.A. Sure, she had Faith to talk to, but they really weren't the best of friends. After all, Faith had tried to kill her on more than one occasion, taken her body once, and Buffy had actually stabbed Faith and put her in a coma. Xander was one of her best friends, and she was glad to have him with her. She really missed having Willow around to talk to, but Xander was just as close to her as she was. They'd been through so much together, such as Xander was one of the first ones in Sunnydale to find out she was a slayer. She knew what Angel wanted him to do, and she thought it was a stellar idea. She really hoped that Xander would at least consider it. Xander would probably stay for a few months because of Buffy, but she knew that he didn't want to stick around for too long. They were going down a back road, when suddenly a person came flying out in front of Buffy's car. Luckily, she stopped the car just in time, before she could run over the civilian. Unfortunately, by stopping it made her miss a huge Demon that popped out after the person. This thing was absolutely huge, and she'd never seen anything like it before. It seemed to ignore the fact that they were there and just kept pursuing the man he was after. Buffy looked over at Xander and gave him a pensive look.

"Stay here, Xander! No matter what happens, I want you to stay here!"

Buffy leaped out of the car, and blocked the Demon from hitting the guy again. She hit it hard on the jaw, but that only made it mad. Her slayer punch didn't seem to slow the demon down in the least. It howled at her like a wounded dog though, and hit her so hard she slammed into the brick wall behind her, and broke pieces of it. She got back up and swung at it, but he just caught her throw, and bent her arm to where Xander swore it was breaking it. He grabbed the back of her head and smashed it up against a nearby metal dumpster. This made Buffy stay where she was and not get up for more. Xander was extremely worried, but he did what Buffy told him to do. She wasn't moving, and at times like this he wished he had some sort of super power to make demons leave his friends alone. Glancing once into the car, the demon just started to walk in the opposite direction. He jumped out of the car when the Demon left, and ran to Buffy's side.

"Geeze, Buffy! Are you alright?" She started to nod, but thought better of it because of the ache in her head.

"God, he was strong. We'd better go and tell Angel, so we can do some research."

* * *

Willow and Dawn were in the living room watching a movie, when the doorbell sounded. Dawn popped up to answer it, and Willow pushed pause so she wouldn't miss anything. She knew that Dawn was hoping that Andrew would pop up at their door out of thin air. She personally didn't know what the girl saw in the little dweeb, but she wasn't going to hassle her about it. She did, however, wonder who it was. No one knew where she was...Unless it was Buffy!! When Dawn let out a huge squeal, it made Willow think it really was Buffy. She got up to go see, and she saw Andrew, which made her really happy for Dawn.

"Hey Andy! Did Xander come back with you?" Andrew smiled at her.

"No, but someone did come to see you." Andrew moved aside and Oz stepped in. Willow could not form a coherent thought.

"Oz? Oh my God, Oz! What are you doing here?!" He smiled at her and walked towards her.

"Xander and Andrew here came and got me. Buffy told me that you wanted to see me, so here I am." At this Dawn smacked Andrew...hard.

"OW! What was that for?" She glared at him.

"You lied to me!" Willow stayed quiet, and noticed when Dawn and Andrew left the room. She motioned for Oz to sit down.

"Well, how've you been? I did want to see you, I wanted to see how you were. I really thought that we were going to die down there, so I wanted to see you. Wait, I thought you couldn't be around me...how has that changed?" He looked down at his feet.

"You know...it's sort of a long story."

* * *

Faith, Lorne, Gunn, Fred, Wes, Spike, and Angel were all in Angel's office when Buffy burst in with Xander, which made them all jump. She seemed absolutely oblivious of Spike's presence, which made Faith eventually start giggling. Buffy, just went right up to Angel, not caring if she was interrupting anything, she was limping…another thing that no one seemed to notice.

"Angel, I've got to tell you about this..." She stopped talking when she saw everyone...and they were silent.

"I'm sorry, should I have knocked?" Angel looked at her, and shook his head. He still didn't say anything, though. She didn't know what was going on.

"What? Why aren't you guys talking?" She looked over at Xander and noticed he was looking at something, too.

"What..." That's when Spike stood up and faced her. Buffy couldn't form coherent words, mostly just stared at him.

"Spike? How?" He walked up to her and kissed her.

"Hello, Luv."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Okay, so here's the second installment of chapters. This is the seventh chapter, and I should get through chapter 15 today...if not more._

_PLEASE REVIEW_

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Willow was sitting across from Oz at the kitchen table, unable to process that he was right in front of her. She was still in complete shock that he was sitting right in front of her. Andrew had explained to her what Buffy had done. She would have to thank her, soon, but she also wanted to throttle her for not giving her a head's up. Buffy never ceased to amaze her, in the things that she could and would do for her friends. She'd proved it on more than one occasion in the past, her loyalty to her friends; this just proved it once more. Oz was just telling her that he was no longer a werewolf in the permanent sense. She couldn't believe it! She felt so happy for him that he finally got what he longed for most. How was it that when she wished for something so hard a couple of years ago, it was finally happening? She knew that he'd hated being a werewolf, and not being able to control the change. He had always been very wary about the two of them dating, because of the fact. She had been the one to pursue the relationship when it first started because she'd like him so much, and now he was in front of her again...no longer a werewolf.

"So, you really did it? I'm so happy for you, Oz! I know how much you wanted to find a cure. First, you found a semi-cure, and now you've found one that'll stick? Well, that's great!" Oz reddened a little bit, he loved how she gave compliments, because it was almost comical. She knew how to make you blush, that was for sure.

"Well, I did it for you, you know. Wait that sort of came out wrong. I loved you very much, Willow, and I'll always care about you. The fact that I couldn't even be near you, before I'd change, just broke me up completely." Willow interrupted him before he could continue.

"Yeah, but I thought that was because you were kind of mad...about me and Tara." Oz had to look away for a minute.

"Willow, I've got to tell you how sorry I am. I never meant to act like I owned you, because that was never my intention. I was devastated that you had found someone to help you move on. The fact that it was a girl never had anything to do with it. It was just that you had moved on, and I had waited too long. Willow, I'm so sorry about Tara, Xander filled me in on the plane."

Willow smiled sadly at Oz. It didn't hurt so much to talk about her now. She knew that Tara was watching over her, and that she would be happy she'd found Kennedy, and even that she'd found Oz again. She didn't know what to expect from Oz either, what did he want from her? Sure he'd come because Buffy had prompted him to, but was he expecting them to get back together? Did he have hopes that she'd date him again? The scary thing was, the thought didn't repulse her in the least. He'd been her first love in every aspect. When he'd left, she'd been devastated and had almost gotten her friends killed. She felt very deeply for Kennedy, so she didn't know if she could back to being with Oz. He answered her question as if she'd spoken out loud, which she didn't, did she?

"Willow, I'm only here, because I want to be your friend. That's all I would like from you. I know you're in a relationship, and I don't want to ruin that for you. If you can't be my friend, then I'll understand. To get to see you is more than good enough for me." Did he not know how much this visit meant to her? She'd love to be his friend.

"Oz, of course I'll be your friend, I'm so happy to see you! I wish you'd stay here with me, but I don't know if you can do that. Now it's my turn, that came out wrong. What I mean is, I'd love for you to stay in San Diego with me. You know, so we can be friends, and hang out with each other." He smiled at her, but before he could say anything, the door opened. They both looked over and saw Kennedy just standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Willow, hey, Sorry, I didn't know that you were expecting company." Willow walked over to where she was standing. She knew Kennedy was going to feel threatened by this. She'd just have to show her, that she was the only one for her.

"Hi! I wasn't really expecting company; this is sort of a surprise visit. Kenn, this is Oz. You've heard me talk about him. Buffy, had Xander and Andrew go get him from Tibet. He came all this way just to see me. Sorry, I do have manners. Oz, this Kennedy." Kennedy looked over at Oz, and put her arm around Willow.

"Yes, I would be her girlfriend."

Dawn and Andrew were sitting on the couch in the living room. Dawn had her arms crossed in front of her, and a scowl on her face. She didn't like to be lied to, even though it wasn't any of her business what he'd been doing. Why hadn't he just said that to her instead of lying? It was bad enough that her own sister didn't think she was important enough to tell her about her little mission. It wasn't like she'd tell anyone, who would she tell? She looked over at Andrew and some of her anger began to melt away. She really liked him, and didn't want this to ruin it. This was the first time that she'd really liked someone and they seemed to like her back.

"Andrew, I really like you, but I really don't think we can have something if you're already lying to me. All you had to tell me was that Buffy didn't want you to tell me." Andrew couldn't believe his bad luck. Was she going to break up with him already? Wait, they hadn't even gone out yet, but now she didn't want to? How is it possible he'd already ruined things with her before they'd even gotten started? He really wished that Spike was still around to ask for some advice, he really missed Spike.

"Dawn, I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to worry about me. I really like you, and I'm sorry that I lied to you. I just hope you can forgive me." Before he could say anything else, Dawn leaned over and hugged him.

"I was so scared for you Andrew. I didn't want you anywhere near another Hellmouth. We've both been there and done that, and we don't need a repeat in history." Without another word, she got up and put a video in. She went back to the couch, and snuggled up next Andrew and put her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way for a long time, even after Kennedy came home and went straight to the kitchen. Andrew was more than happy to let Dawn use him as a pillow. She was the first girl in a long time who actually treated him like a human being, and not some geek. He just hoped that they could work through things and stay together.

* * *

Buffy couldn't believe her eyes. Spike was in touching distance of her, he had touched her. She thought he'd died though, she'd been sure of it, so how was he standing in front of her now? She'd been almost destroyed with the fact that he'd sacrificed himself for her. He'd worn the amulet because of her and she hadn't even treated him decently. Maybe this was her chance to make amends to him. She just hoped that this wasn't some trick and she'd be able to keep him. She'd been torturing herself with the knowledge that he wouldn't pop up and bother her again. He'd always been there, so to know that he wasn't coming back had been so hard. She walked forward and put her hand on his cheek.

"Spike? Wha...how? I thought you were dead. Did you get out somehow? Why didn't you come tell me?" Spike smiled at her, and lightly placed his hand on her cheek.

"Buffy, I did die, and I know because I remember how bloody painful it was. I literally just fell out of nowhere, and I have no idea how I got here." Without her knowing it she started to cry. He walked closer to her, and wiped the tears away.

"There's no reason to cry, love. I'm here, I don't know why, but I am here. I do know another thing too, I'm not going anywhere, and I'll always be here for you." She reached up and put her arms around his neck.

"From now on, Spike, no more risking of the life. I'm serious, if I have to tie you up from now on, I will." Spike smirked at her playfully.

"Didn't we already do that once?" Buffy smiled and continued to cling to him.

While this was going on the only person to realize Angel's pain was Fred. She walked up to him and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn't say anything to her, but it was comforting to know someone cared. Angel didn't honestly think he could stand seeing them like this much longer. She wasn't supposed to be hugging on Spike like that…it was Spike for crying out loud! She was supposed to be his, didn't she know that? Well, maybe not right now but it had always been an unspoken thing between them. He knew it was kind of petty, but he had to think about something else. Angel abruptly turned around and faced faith.

"So, Faith, what did this demon of yours look like, and we'll get the research team going." This made Buffy look up from Spike. She walked over to where Faith was standing.

"You were attacked? Are you alright?" Faith smiled at her. She liked that her and Buffy were friends now, and that she was actually concerned for her. She just wished that it had come sooner instead of later, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Yeah, by this really ugly green demon." This gave Buffy pause.

"Did you say, green? Did it have yellow eyes, and it was about seven feet tall?" Angel looked at Buffy now.

"You've seen it too? Did you fight it?" This made Xander speak up.

"Boy did she ever. It was strong too, and got away. She told me not to interfere, which was probably a good thing, since he used her face to break a wall." Faith looked at Buffy and just then noticed the scratches all over her. Angel walked around his desk and picked up the phone.

"Yes, this is Angel. I need a medic in here right now, and get the research team together. We're going to need to look up a new demon." He put the phone down, and looked at everyone.

"Well, this is just great. We've got a demon that's taken down both of our slayers. So, we'll see how it does with two at once and a vampire." Spike jumped up then.

"Hey you've got two vampires here; you're not leaving me behind." Wes and Gunn stood up, also. This statement caused Buffy to walk back over to Spike and glare at him.

"I thought we'd decided that there would be no more risking of your life! He only grinned at her, and put his arm around her shoulders. She knew that she couldn't keep him from fighting, it was just who Spike was. She just hoped that he was more careful with himself than last time because of how hard it had been on both of them. Wesley stood up then to speak his peace.

"I think we need to take the whole team, Angel. We Might be able to take it down that way. Besides, all of us can take care of ourselves and we're pretty good with swords." Angel thought about it.

"Alright then, we'll all go, well, whoever wants to go. It'll be like old times, all of us together, taking down demons...I like it."


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Okay, I know it's been a VERY LONG time since I updated, but my files were corrupted. This chapter was stupidly short the first time around that I had this story up. I've tweaked it and added to it, so it's almost 2500 words now. Again, for this story is complete...there are a total of 48 chapters, i'm just revising because most of the chapters are only like 900 words. I've written a sequel to this story, but I'm not going to post it until I have all of this one back up and running._

_Please review, though this may be a repeat for some of you buffy readers out there._

* * *

Chapter Eight-Surprise

Willow was at a loss for what to do. Kennedy was acting like she was in a very catty mood, which wasn't really like her. Even now Kennedy was saying something. " Oh, good ol' Buffy, acting like the good watcher she wasn't." How could she still have resentful feelings towards Buffy? She'd saved Kennedy a couple of times now and still...hatred. Oz looked very uncomfortable, and she hated that Kennedy was making him feel that way. He looked like he wanted to bolt right then and there. He was still her friend even if they weren't together, and it was beginning to annoy her that Kennedy was acting like this. She looked over at Kennedy and gave her a shocked look.

" Kenn, I cannot believe you just said that about her! Buffy is one of the best people I have ever known, and she would never do anything intentional to hurt anyone. She's saved my life several times, actually, come to think of it SHE SAVED US ALL!!!" Kennedy looked very surprised at her outburst. She hated that Willow was always sticking up for Buffy, she was always doing it.

" What do you mean, 'she saved us all?' If you'll remember correctly, it was Spike that wore the amulet that destroyed the hellmouth." Willow was seething, and it always took a lot to get her spitting mad like she was. The fact that Kennedy wasn't having to do much, was actually freaking her out. It couldn't be a good sign when you wanted to rip your girlfriend's head off just because they were being a bitch to your friend.

" Yes, that is very true, but that had to be about our tenth apocalypse together. If she hadn't averted several of them before, then we wouldn't even be standing here having this very ridiculous conversation, and let's face it, Kennedy, this is ridiculous! I've never seen you act like this, I really don't like it." At that very moment, Willow realized that Oz was still in the room, and she was absolutely mortified that he'd had to witness that little spat between the two of them. Kennedy realized he was still there also, and turned to face him. It was obvious to Oz that she was very threatened by his presence.

" Oz, I'm sorry to be rude, but why don't you come back tomorrow and visit Willow? We're a little busy here, and this needs to get out in the open, I think." Before Oz could answer, though, Willow spoke up. How dare she try and shoo him away like that? He'd only been there for ten minutes for crying out loud!

" Actually, why don't you come back in about three and a half hours for dinner? I'm whipping something special up for Dawn, so it'll just be a social event." Kennedy gave Willow a sharp look, but didn't say anything to contradict her, not wanting to give this guy any further ammunition on her. She didn't understand why Willow was wanting to hang out with him. He was her ex-boyfriend, and Willow wasn't surfing in the boy pool anymore. Who hung out with their ex-boyfriends anyway? To make matters just a little bit worse, Dawn called in a question from the living room.

" Can Andrew stay for dinner too, Wils?"

* * *

Angel, Buffy, Wesley, and Faith were in Angel's office, having a meeting. Lorne had taken Spike to find an apartment, so that they could have some time to discuss this new turn of events. Right then, Angel was telling them that he'd lied about wanting everyone to go on the hunt. Buffy thought it to be hilarious that Angel still disliked Spike so much. The two had known each other for over two hundred years, and they couldn't think of anything to do, but argue..mostly over her. Buffy had no doubt that he was upset at their little display, so his little revenge was to try and make him stay away from the fight.

" I don't like this at all, Buffy, it's really not smart. It should just be you, Faith, and myself...okay, and the rest of my crew. Xander can even come, if you want him too, but dammit Spike can't! He isn't one of your scoobies, and I frankly just don't like him! Not to mention, he's just showed up out of the blue, and we don't know if we can trust him." All three of them just stared at him, but Buffy spoke up.

" Oh, gee, Angel, you don't like Spike? How come I didn't know that you didn't like Spike? Angel, he is going to go no matter what you or I say. Are you going to chain him the room or something? You know, he does have super human strength just like you and I do. You have to understand that he has a soul now, and he is the only other person that can match yours, faith's, and my strength. That isn't any offense at all to Wesley and the others, but it's true. If you want to kill this thing, then you need everyone you can get that's strong enough. Spike is more then willing to put his neck on the line, and he doesn't even know what we're fighting." Angel still wasn't happy, but he didn't say anything more about it. He hated the fact that Buffy stood up for him. She was supposed to hate him just like he did, but he knew of the connection to him. She wasn't supposed to have feelings for Spike...especially those kinds of feelings. He knew that he was acting like a twelve your old boy, chasing after the super hot cheerleader, but dammit...Buffy was his!

" Okay, just tell me the basics of this demon with no name. We've looked in all of our books that we have here, but we can't seem to locate it. So, we know what it looks like, but do we know anything else?" They all jumped when a voice sounded from the back of the room.

" Oh, how about that it can end the world as we know it?" They all turned around and saw Giles standing the doorway. Buffy bolted towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was insane how much she missed the older man. He was such a fixture in her life, that it seemed really off kilter when he wasn't there. Ever since she'd come back from the dead, she felt as if she had to have him near her. Sure, they fought a lot more...just like a father and daughter would, but she still hated it when he was away.

" Giles! I can't believe that you're here! I thought you weren't supposed to be here for another couple of weeks, but YOU'RE HERE!!!!!" She hugged him one more time before blushing and walking back to where she had been standing. Giles smiled at Buffy gently, really liking that she felt comfortable to do that.

" It's good to see you, too, Buffy. I was going to stay in England for another couple of months, but I'd been researching demons for no reason whatsoever, when I came across this demon. It has no name, but it's referred to as the bringer of death. It's very strong, and the only way you can kill it, is you have to wait until it tries to ascend, and chop off his head with the Masson Sword. You can track it, and fight it to weaken it, but you cannot kill it until it's ascension date. Louie Masson created the sword with special magics, and while he was doing his spell he released the demon the spell was meant for. He managed to chop off the demon's left ear. The power of the sword has left the demon in terrible shape, and he's been in hiding for over a century, but now it's time for him to ascend." None of them could speak at all, they just stared at him. Giles looked over at Buffy and told her she needed to call Willow and have her come up, to which Buffy just nodded her head. He then asked Wesley to tell the rest of the group to come up to Angel's office, so they could fill them in on the happenings. He continued to give everyone orders, and they all carried them out without complaints.

* * *

Buffy knew that she needed to be more worried about the coming apocalypse, but she just couldn't bring herself to be scared. After the hellmouth, she felt as if she could take on anything. Also, with Spike by her side, she felt that all was right with the world. Of course, having a few key people missing did put a damper on events, but it was better then usual. She knew that Willow wouldn't want to get in the thick of it again, but they needed her. After doing her spell on the scythe, she'd pretty much ascended to the level of Goddess. She was so powerful now, all she had to do was speak a word and what she was thinking would be acted out. Giles had told her it was normal, because she'd finally been able to control herself and push the dark side away from her being. Buffy was just glad that Willow hadn't gone all evil again, because that on top of the hellmouth would have sucked. When she picked up the phone to call, she got a little worried. She had to have them come there when Oz had just arrived. Sighing, she dialed her friend's number and waited for her to answer. To her surprise, Dawn answered the phone with a whisper, and Buffy could hear Kennedy and Willow yelling at top volume.

"Dawn, what the heck is going on over there?" She heard Dawn messing with the phone, as if trying to better situate it to watch the girls.

"Willow and Kennedy are fighting about you...and Oz. Kennedy was really pissed off when he showed up and she started talking smack about you. Willow stood up for you, saying that we owed our lives to you, and Kennedy has pretty much been going off on her since." Buffy groaned and rolled her eyes. Kennedy wasn't one of her favorite newbies to the circle of slayers. She was bitchy, cranky, pushy, self absorbed, and Buffy just downright didn't like her.

"Dawn, I hate to ask you to do this, but I need Willow on the phone right now. This is one of those extremely emergency situations here. You know, Dawn...you might want to think about getting your GED. It might be easier for you, you know." Dawn laughed delightedly.

"God, Buffy, I'd love to do that! I didn't think you'd sign the papers though, thought you'd say something like 'you have to finish school'." Buffy giggled with her and then waited patiently while she went to get Willow. After a few more minutes, Willow answered in a huffy tone.

"Hey Buffy, how's it going? Wait, before you say anything, I have to thank you. You knew that I wanted to see him to see how he was doing, and you made it come true. You're an amazing person, Buffy Summers." Buffy blushed and she was glad that she had a phone between her.

"You're quite welcome, you know you deserved it. I hate to do this, but I need you guys to come to L.A. as soon as possible. Giles just showed up and gave us some pretty bad news. I suppose you'll need to bring Oz with you too, that way he can be kept in the loop too. Do you have speaker phone on your phone? I kind of want to tell you and Dawn something together." Willow was a little confused about the way Buffy was acting, but she did as she asked. She pushed her speaker phone button and pulled Dawn over to her.

"Okay Buffy, we're both here, what's up?" They her heard her pause, which just caused them to be even more confused.

"Well, we had a visitor drop in today...a very unexpected visitor." Buffy knew that she was being mean to them and dragging it out, it was just that she was still having a hard time believing it. She'd gone months thinking she'd never get to see him again and he was only a few miles away form her now. She heard Dawn's impatient growl as she waited.

"Are you gonna tell us who it was, or do you want us to guess?" Buffy sighed and began to tell them just as he walked up behind her.

"Well, since they just walked up, I think I'll let them say hello." She turned around to face Spike and motioned for him to say hello. He grinned at her, pecked her on the cheek, and then looked at the phone.

"Hey Nibblet...Red, how're you two doing?" They had to cover their ears at Dawn's squeal. Willow laughed excitedly, unable to hold her happiness in.

"Spike?! How are you there? It totally doesn't make any sense!" Dawn took over the talking then.

"Spike, is it really you? I can't believe you're okay, you are okay, right?" Spike lowered his head and Buffy put her hand on his shoulder. She knew that he'd been through quite a lot in the last few hours. He'd said that he could still fell the pain as he was falling into the lobby.

"I'm fine now, pet, don't you worry about me. I'll be expecting a hug as soon as you get here." When they hung up the phone, Spike turned to face Buffy. Buffy, still very overwhelmed, placed her hand on his cheek.

"I still can't believe it myself. I meant what I said earlier, you know. No more risking of the life for me, do you understand?" Spike lowered his head and nodded.

"Of course I understand. Everything I do is for you, Buffy...God that sounded corny, didn't it?" Buffy laughed and pulled him into a hug.

"Very much so, but I won't bug you about it right now." Spike chuckled and they both ignored it when Angel and Giles entered the room. Angel glowered and Giles cleaned his glasses.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Okay, here is the next chapter! woo hoo! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it! **_

_**I think that I should address one particular subject before I get people too terribly angry. As I've been saying, this is a story that's already done.**_

_**I'm only revising this story, it's several years old.**_

_**This is NOT a Spuffy story. I LOVE SPIKE, but I decided that this is a Bangel story a long time ago. Most of my fanfic is Spuffy , but I felt that this should be for Angel.**_

_**Those of you who are die-hard Spuffy fans, I hope that you'll keep reading! I've got a sequel written just for Spike that I'm posting as soon as I have this completed. Anyhoo, Hope you like this and please reivew!**_

* * *

**Chapter 9-Oz**

Everyone was in a conference room at Wolfram & Hart, and they were all a little antsy. They were just waiting for Willow, Oz, Dawn, Andrew, and Kennedy to show up. Buffy was glad that Willow and Dawn were returning, and she was even happier that Oz was still there with them. He'd only been there for a day or so, but she hadn't been sure about how Willow was going to react to him. Fred wasn't there because they hadn't been able to find her. She was probably off doing one of her experiments, it's just what Fred did. Wesley had searched everywhere for her, but the girl knew so many shortcuts, that it was impossible to locate her. They had all decided to let Oz in on everything because he was an original scoobie, plus everyone just missed him. Not to mention, he had experience in fighting with weapons and could take care of himself in a battle. Angel was still mad about Spike being there, and Buffy wasn't sure why. She knew that he didn't like Spike, but she suspected that there was way more to it then that. It wasn't because of her, she was sure of it. They'd had a long talk about the whole "them" thing, so she knew it couldn't be about that. Maybe he just didn't like Spike in general, which was understandable, because nobody really liked Spike. Well, they did now, but they didn't use to. She was pacing the floor of the conference room, because she was really excited about seeing Dawn. She knew it had only been a few weeks, but she still missed her sister.

It was then that Willow and Kennedy walked through the door, and were shortly followed by Dawn and Andrew. Everyone was riveted in their place waiting for Oz to walk through the door, but he never did. Buffy walked up to Willow and gave her hug, then she gave Dawn a big hug, but was careful not to hurt her with her slayer strength. She glanced back over at Willow with a confused expression. She had said that he was coming with them, but he was no where in sight. She started to get worried, like maybe he hadn't gotten on the plane after all, but why would he stay in San Francisco? Buffy looked over at Dawn, who was twirling around in Spike's arms at the moment. The sight of the two of them made her smile. Even when he was still technically evil, they'd both had a soft spot for each other. Buffy suspected that her sister thought the blonde to be pretty, which he was, and Spike just liked Dawn. Sighing, she looked back at Willow with an apprehensive look.

" Where is he? Did he not come with you, or is he trying for the dramatic entrance?" Willow looked around the room and then back at Buffy. It was very clear that she wasn't comfortable.

"He's downstairs in the lobby, waiting for the meeting to be over. He said he didn't want to come up because he wasn't part of the group anymore. I tried to tell him that it wasn't true, but he wouldn't hear about coming up with us." Buffy looked over at Angel with a sigh. How could Oz possibly think they didn't want him in the group? They'd known for a very long time, he was trustworthy, and he was just Oz.

"Do you want to come with me, so he'll get the picture?" Instead of answering, he just followed her. When they got to the elevator Buffy looked at Angel, because he was very unusually quiet.

" Are you okay with what's happening, Angel? I know that you're upset with Spike being in on it, but is that really all that's the matter?" He looked over at her with an unreadable expression. Buffy sometimes forgot how beautiful Angel was, but confined in the elevator with him, she was very much aware.

" I don't really have a say in anything, Buffy, but yes, I'm okay with it. Giles should be the one to be in charge, because he's the one who knows what we're up against. He is also very good at telling people what to do so that it doesn't sound like an order. I, unfortunately, do not have that kind of finesse." She looked at him strangely. He still seemed to be out of sorts, but he wasn't going to divulge unless she really pressed him.

" Then what's wrong? You've been very quiet and I know you're usually quiet, but more so than normal, and why are you staring at me that way?" He smiled at her, and moved closer to her. Buffy felt her breath catch as she stared up into his eyes.

" It's just weird, ya know? You had your scoobie group, and I wasn't a part of that. Then I had my own little group, and you weren't a part of that. Now, we're all here together, all of us, and it's just weird. I think it'll work, because you have a great team, and I have a great team. If both our teams are great, then how will they be together?" She was smiling by the time he was finished talking. He was actually babbling, and it made Buffy giggle just a little bit.

" I know what you mean, Angel. It's very weird being here, and it's not just because you're here, it just feels right."

The elevator doors opened and they were greeted with silence. It was after work hours, and everyone had gone home for the day. It was really eerie without the lights on, and no one moving around. It looked like a scene from a horror film, and Buffy, out of habit, reached to make sure her stake was in her pocket. She knew that the probability of them catching a vampire there was unlikely, but she just felt safe with it...kind of like a security blanket. At first they didn't think anyone was there, but then they saw a figure sitting on the couch. They looked at each other, and then walked towards him with a purpose. It took a few minutes before he noticed them, but when he did, he stood up. He seemed so uncomfortable that it really made Buffy sad. There was a time when he'd been her friend...but then, things change.

" Hey, Buffy, Angel. Is the meeting over?"Angel sighed and spoke first.

" Oz, we haven't even started the meeting yet." He looked confused. He knew that Willow told them he was staying downstairs, so why were they here with him?

" Why not?" This time it was Buffy who spoke.

" Oz, we're waiting for you, we told you over the phone that we wanted you to be a part of this. Willow told us you said you weren't part of the group anymore, but you're wrong. We're your friends, Oz, and that's all this 'group' is. We're all friends. I know I had you drug out of a life your perfectly content with, but you belong with us Oz, you always have. Now get up and get your ass in the elevator before I throw a desk at you." Oz looked down in the uncomfortable way that Oz did, and Buffy thought that he was actually going to say no, but when he raised his head he was smiling.

" That was a great speech, Buffy."

* * *

The others were in the conference room, waiting for them to return with Oz. Kennedy was standing next to Willow with an angry expression on her face, to which Willow was trying to ignore. She didn't understand why they were making such a big deal about this guy, he'd apparently been absent for some time now. Giles noticed that Willow didn't seem to happy either, and he briefly thought about how the two girls had way too much pride and stubbornness. He'd never understood what she'd thought in her, honestly. She was so completely opposite from Oz and Tara, that it was frightening. Both Oz and Tara were gently natured, but Kennedy was, at times, hard as nails. He thought maybe he should try to lighten everyone's mood, so he cleared his throat and addressed the redhead.

"So, Willow, how are you doing?" Willow looked over at him and smiled. She and Giles hadn't always gotten along, but she respected him like her teacher and friend.

"Oh, I'm good, Giles. I'm just so glad that you're back from England. We were all missing you something awful." Kennedy made a face, and then turned to Giles.

"Look, I don't understand why this meeting is any of this Oz guy's business. He's just a werewolf, and as far as I'm concerned that makes him a monster, and don't we kill monsters, Giles?" Giles took his glasses off and was about to defend Oz, when Buffy, Angel, and Oz walked through the door. He'd never liked Kennedy's bluntness. The girl seemed to always speak before she let it filter through her brain...sort of like Anya had, only Kennedy was just plain rude on purpose. Buffy walked toward Kennedy and stopped only inches from her face. Giles took his glasses off again...this wasn't going to be pretty.

" No, we do not kill werewolves, Kennedy, and they certainly aren't monsters. They are human every day of the month except for three days at the full moon. It's not their fault that they're wolves and had the misfortune of getting bitten. If it's any of your business at all, Oz isn't a werewolf anymore, and if you come near him with intent to harm him, I will break your arm off. The only reason you're still in this room, is because Willow is one of my best friends, and she seems to think you're a worthwhile person. I'm not going to do anything to intentionally hurt her. So, just sit down, shut up, and I won't have to physically throw you out." Kennedy started laughing. Buffy always thought that she was so great, but now that she had slayer power, Kennedy was pretty sure she could take her.

" Oh, Buffy, you wouldn't dare. This is your boss's place, if you'll remember. He wouldn't let you do anything to me." Angel stepped forward and just looked at her. He didn't really know the girl, but he didn't like anyone messing with his friends...or Buffy.

" Oz is my friend too, and if you do anything to him, you'll be lucky if it's Buffy you get."


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: Alrighty, here is the 10th chapter, hope you like it. I should get a few more chapters up tomorrow, but we'll see._**

**_Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

* * *

**Chapter ten-Connor**

The room got very tense after Buffy and Angel let themselves be known to Kennedy. Willow didn't say anything to defend Kennedy, and she gave Willow a withering look for it. She absolutely hated that Willow never stood up for her, but she always did it for these yahoo's. She just sat down at the table and didn't say another word to anybody. Willow still didn't understand the sudden attitude that she was giving off to everyone. She'd made it perfectly clear that she wasn't wanting a relationship in that way with Oz, but she wasn't just going to throw his friendship away, either. She'd have to have serious talk about the possessiveness, because Willow didn't like for anyone to tell what to do. After everyone gave Oz a big welcome, they all took seats at the table as well. Buffy looked up at Giles who was at the head of the table. It just felt right that he was up there getting ready to lead them in a very big battle. She knew something hadn't felt right when Faith and her had first arrived, but this was it. Spike was back, Dawn was back, Willow was back, and now...Giles had returned. Everything seemed to falling into place nicely.

" Well, Giles, you got us all together in room for the first time in History, so. What do we have to do?" Giles took a minute to gather his thoughts.

" Well, it's not going to be easy, but then again has anything ever been? As I've said to you before, you can only defeat this demon in the hour of his ascension, but it is imperative that we find him before that. We must have him in our midst before, so we may wear him down. If we find him only a few minutes before, he will overpower us with little exertion." When he finished speaking he looked around to find that everyone looked confused, except for Oz, he never looked confused( or he always did.) Willow raised her hand, which got a few snickers, and a smile from Giles.

" Um, would it be okay to get that again in Xander language?" Xander looked sharply at Willow, but everyone just laughed.

" Hey! Okay, yes, Xander speech would be great." Giles just shook his head in mock frustration.

" Okay children, focus please! We have to find him well before his ascension so we can beat the crap out of him to make him tired." Everyone got it then, but Xander held his hand up and grinned. Giles looked at him warily, as if he wasn't sure Xander was joking or not.

"Come on, people we aren't in school, though I sometimes feel like I'm teaching children." Xander put his hand down then, but looked around the room.

" Does anyone miss Glory,' hey I just want to go back to my world'?" They all just turned and looked at him like he'd gone completely insane. They knew that he was joking, but his "laugh in the face of death" jokes were rarely funny. Willow looked over at him, and said very seriously.

" No, because we had to run away, then there was the whole thing with Tara losing her mind thing, then we lost Dawn, Buffy went catatonic on me, then we found Dawn at that...tower thing, we had to fight a very huge battle, and then we lost Buffy for a really long time. So, I'm thinking no, we don't miss Glory at all." When she straightened everyone in the room laughed at the look on Xander's face.

* * *

"Dad, I'm going to be alright, I don't even know why I'm going to Wolfram and Hart, I just know that I need to. There's just something about the place that's making me really want to go inside."

The boys' father lowered his head, because he knew his son's mind was made up. He knew he was going to go, and he was terrified at what he was going to find. The boy had already been through so much, and he didn't want him to have to live through it all over again. He honestly didn't need to relive any of it. He knew that he wasn't his real father, but he sure felt like he was at times. He'd have to warn Angel, of course, he'd known this day would come eventually, he was just hoping for later. The higher ups from Wolfram and Hart had warned him that this was a possibility. He also knew he wasn't supposed to say anything to Angel if this happened, but he was going to anyway, it just wasn't fair to the kid. He hugged his son good-bye, probably for the last time. After he left, he walked over to kitchen table, and picked up the phone.

* * *

Everyone was settling down when Fred burst through the door. She had a horrified look on her face, and it made everyone turn to look at her, concerned. Wesley walked over to where she was standing, and put a hand on her shoulder. She sat down and started waving her arms frantically as if playing a very weird game of charades. Fred rarely got this worked up, she was normally very sensible about things. Sure, she didn't like fighting face to face with something, but she was proficient. The face that she looked on the verge of collapsing, was worrying the Angel group. Wesley knelt down in front of her and took hold of her hands. He spoke softly to her, to try and calm her down.

"Fred, you've got to calm down so that you can tell us what the problem is. We're all here and nothing is going to happen to you, okay? Come on now, what's wrong?" She was breathing very heavily, but nodded her head. Then she turned to Angel, and looked at him with a panicked expression.

" Angel, he's coming here...now!" Angel walked up to her and folded his arms as he looked at her. He knew that she was telling him something very important, but he wasn't sure he was grasping it.

" Fred, you've got to calm down. Who's coming where?" She took a huge gulp of water from the glass Wesley was offering her. Then she looked plainly at Angel, and ignored everyone else in the room.

" I was in the lab working on something for one of the cases, when the receptionist from the lobby came in and gave me a message for you. She told me she couldn't disturb you, because you were in a top secret meeting, but since I've been in those meetings before, she'd give me the message." Angel began to pace the floor, he hated it when she went into these very long explanations.

" Dammit, Fred, just spit it out!" She jumped at his harsh tone, but she realized that she was causing everyone to stress out. She took a big breath to steady her nerves before answering softly.

" Well, the message was from a man that was needing to speak with you desperately. He said his son was on his way to see you for some reason. He should be here any minute, and honestly Angel, I don't know how this could happen. This is so bad!" Angel looked very confused, as did everyone else in the room. He had absolutely no idea what she was getting at and why she looked so upset about it.

" A man called, saying his son was coming to see me, and this is top secret how?" Fred looked at him like he was crazy. She jumped out of her chair, and stomped her foot like a child would.

" Angel, don't you understand? The boy who's coming to see you is yours! He's your son!" Everyone in the conference room stilled. Wesley got Fred to sit back down in the chair, and was comforting her. He then looked at her, and asked her very calmly.

" Fred, How can you be sure that the boy the man was talking about is Connor?" Fred rolled her eyes at them and then glared. Honestly, did they think she was completely insane? Of course it was Connor, the man was very specific of it. Well, he didn't exactly say Connor's name, but who the hell else would it be? She looked around the room and stared at everyone like they'd lost their marbles.

"Come on guys, he said the password!" Angel swore and began to pace the room again.

Buffy was completely lost as to what was going on. How did Angel have a son and she not know about it? She looked over at Faith, who was avoiding her gaze. She then looked over at Willow and saw that she had a guilty expression on her face too. How could her best friend keep something like this from her?! It was bad enough that Angel hadn't thought her important enough to share, but Willow knew? She knew that she shouldn't say anything so she kept quiet for the moment. Everyone else in her group looked just as confused as she felt. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, she walked over to Willow and sat down next to her. She had to know why she hadn't told her.

"Wils...what gives?" Willow gave her a pained expression and looked down. Buffy was growing more agitated, but she didn't want to alert Angel of what she was asking, in case he got mad. Willow sighed and finally met Buffy's eyes.

"I don't know, Buffy, I wasn't sure how you'd react at me telling you. It's the kind of thing that should come from a certain vampire ex of yours and not from me. I thought you 'd be upset and yes, I should have told you, but I didn't. I'm sorry, Buffy, I thought I was doing the right thing." Buffy nodded and went back to her original seat. She was still very peeved, but she couldn't blame Willow for not telling her. It was true that Angel should have done it himself. The Angel group was huddled together, excluding everyone else from their conversation. Fed up, Buffy stood up and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Okay, maybe I'm out of line here, but you guys standing over there in your little secret circle, is really starting to piss me off." They jumped apart and looked at her guiltily. Angel looked down almost as soon as he made eye contact with her, he knew that he should have told her. Wesley winced at the waiting faces, and addressed the whole room.

"Sorry about that, Buffy, you're not out of line. We were being rude just then, and I apologize. There was some...drama with Angel's son, Connor, and he was sent to live with a family to live out a normal life. His memory was wiped and he thinks the family he's with is actually his. The only one that knows the game, is the father. He was given a password to say in case something went wrong and he remembered. We don't know what's going on, just that Connor is on his way, and we've got little time to prepare. According to the message that Fred got, he still thinks he belongs to the family, but he's curious about Angel. He's not even supposed to know what he looks like, let alone his name." Buffy stared at them like they'd gone insane, but she didn't say anything. She sat back down and seethed silently. She wanted to ask Angel so many questions, but she didn't think that she had the right to know certain things anymore. Angel stepped forward, like he wanted to talk to Buffy, but before he could get a word out, the door opened and a young boy stepped in.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Angel and I was told he'd be up here. Is he here?" Everyone froze as they stared at the newcomer. Buffy was shocked at how much he looked like Angel, not to mention...how grown up he was. She was so beyond confused that her head hurt. Angel stepped forward and stared at him.

"Hello, Connor."


End file.
